September 3, 2004 – Covington
For the first time in 45 regular season games the Covington Buccaneers were on the losing end of the scoreboard as Anna shocked the Buccs 42-7 in front of the Covington faithful at Smith Field.
It was clear early that the Rockets were the better, quicker team as they marched down the field on their first possession to score. After holding the Buccs to three plays and out, Anna put the first points on the scoreboard on a 45-yard run by scatback, DJ Marks. The extra point attempt was good and the Buccs were put in a position they haven’t been in for a long time, down 7-0.
Covington had trouble moving the ball as the Anna defense spend most of the night in the Covington backfield. After failing to get a first down on their second possession, the Buccs turned the ball back over to the dangerous Anna offense.
This time, Anna quarterback Ashton Berner dove in from three yards out to increase the Rocket’ lead to 14-0 with 2:10 left in the first quarter.
The Rockets, who accumulated 296 yards on the ground, struck again early in the second period, this time from the air. Berner connected with Andy Barhorst on a 22-yard scoring strike to break the game open with 10:24 left in the half.
Anna kept the pressure on the Buccs on their next drive as well. Berner spearheaded a 44-yard drive, which he climaxed with a 25-yard toss for another score to put Anna well ahead at 28-0 with 6:30 left in the half.
Looking to get back into the game, Covington drove the ball inside the Rocket 20-yard line on the ensuing possession. Faced with a fourth and one, the Buccs elected to go for it. Anna’s defense rose to the occasion, however, and stopped Covington quarterback Set Mohler short of the first down marker.
The Rockets ran out the clock and the two teams went to halftime with the score 28-0 in Anna’s favor.
The second half began as the first half ended, with Anna dominating the action. The Rockets took the opening kickoff and marched down the field. With 10:24 to go in the third, Berner took the ball in from the 1-yard line to push Anna’s lead to 35-0.
Berner had a hand in the final Rocket score as well, as he connected with DJ Marks on a 21-yard pass with 5:29 to go in the third to push Anna’s lead to 42-0.
Covington, a team which played hard throughout despite the circumstances, finally hit pay dirt with 5:29 left in the contest. Sophomore running back Gene Studebaker ran in from 7 yards out. Studebaker’s score was set up by two accurate passes from sophomore quarterback, Seth Mohler to sophomore tight end, Drew Craft. Matt Fulks connected on the point-after to make the final score 42-7.
“This is a tough loss,” said Covington coach Kevin Finfrock. “But, we’ll find out what kind of character and leadership we have on this team. We have to put this behind us and focus on one game at a time. There’s a lot of football ahead of us and one game doesn’t make a season.”
Covington, 1-1 and 0-1 in the CCC travels to Twin Valley South 0-2 and 0-1 in the CCC next Friday.
Scoring by Quarters:
Buccs: …….0……0…..0…….7 – 7
Rockets: …14….14….7…….7 – 42
